Analyzing works by such artists as Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, and Mark Rothko, this book explains how color in a painting can be used creatively—whether exaggerating or replacing colors found in nature or producing areas of pure color—in order to express mood and emotion. It discusses techniques for applying color in various wet and dry media, including oil, watercolor, tempera, gouache, and pastels, and shows how color plays a central role in an abstract painting.